Vices
by ThatForestBurned
Summary: When a girl and a Decepticon medic both fall victim of a car accident, her simple act of kindness causes the Con to do something out of character, and saves her life. And as bonds slowly form, something unusual is discovered on a basic mission.
1. Chapter 1- Blizzard

"The papers I will be passing out are a review for your test next week. Don't forget to study!" a female voice dictated. The voice, a French professor, was a thin woman with raven black hair and medium frame. She handed a stack of papers to one of the students who had taken one and passed the rest to another classmate.

"Class dismissed." The professor spoke once more and in an instant many of the students jumped to their feet and scurried toward to door to leave. Only a few had lingered behind to ask questions. A girl in particular was still gathering her things. She looked to be in her late-20's, although many people mistaken her to look younger. She was rather short and thin, pale, with long natural blonde hair that always seemed to get away from her. Her soft facial features displayed a look of concentration. She was doing a mental review of everything she learned in class.

"Olivia did you have any questions?" her professor asked, pulling her out of her train of thought.

"No Madame, I'm fine, thank you." She replied as her grey eyes darted toward her professor and smiled. The professor returned the smile and Olivia resumed packing up her things.

Olivia's outlook shined positively on this semester as she made her way toward the door. She felt this time around would be different, unlike last semester… she cringed at the thought. Her pre-calculus teacher before was nothing if not mean and cruel to her students, berating them to the point where reviewing for a test became a joke, and many of them had failed the class because of her tutelage. She had drove Olivia insane and also gave her a poor grade to boot. Olivia had always strived to do well in class, and always achieved high grade goals, but when she took that math class…

She sighed and tried to block the aggravation that was trying to creep into her good mood. She sighed once more and hastily made her way out of the building into the cold weather. To her surprise it had started to snow, and coming down rather hard. The cold air cut through her like a knife and she shivered, pulling her charcoal jacket tighter. It looked as though it would be snowing for a while.

The beach area was rarely gifted with snow, but on the occasion it did, the city never had the equipment or the man power to clear the roads, so in turn most of the area would become snowed in. Younger children or people that didn't have to worry about driving, would always be ecstatic, given a rare chance of having a snow day, but the people that had to commute to class or work, they were less than thrilled.

' _Looks like I'll have to start driving...'_ Olivia growled at the thought. She loved it when it snowed, but not when she had to drive in it. She still had another class to attend, but unfortunately they were all on the other side of the city. The school's art building, a place where most of the crafts, traditional and digital stuff was taught. The building was even large enough to hold exhibits on the ground floor. Great place to pursue any interest in art, but a very terrible location. She sighed, the freshly fallen snow crunching under her feet as she walked toward her silver car, mentally prepping herself for the tedious journey ahead.

Driving to the second campus usually took about 40 minutes, even less when she drove 80 on the interstate. It was illegal to drive above 55 in her area, but driving fast was a bit of a guilty pleasure for her. She loved zooming past every car on a normal day, even if it was a tad dangerous. However, with the relentless blizzard at hand, driving all the way to the other side of the city would certainly take much longer. Olivia growled at her speedometer as the arrow barely touched 30 mph.

"This is ridiculous." She muttered to herself. She just wanted to drive straight home, missing one class wouldn't have killed her. But as much as that option seemed appealing, she had a nagging thought in that told her if class wasn't canceled she may miss something vital, something she should have been present for in class. The same thought told her to press on, it would be worth in the end.

"Yeah right." She murmured, arguing only with herself.

Ultimately driving all the way out to class became the victor and she pressed forward determined to make it on time, even if there was a chance she would be the only one to show up. She kept driving at a slow pace and almost made it all the way there when her phone buzzed. Quickly, she glanced at her phone and snarled.

 _All classes canceled until further notice_ was all she caught from the text, but it was enough to have her fuming.

"Son of a bitch!" She yelled in aggravation. She instantly regretted her decision.

With a defeated sigh she found the nearest exit, and started heading back home. By the time she had turned the car around, it hard grown quite dark outside. The snow was coming down harder than before, and it felt like she was the only living soul out there. It all seemed so eerie, but given that she loved the silence that the snow brought, she didn't give it a second thought. For her it was comforting, like an old friend welcoming her with open arms. She would always find herself outside in the comfort of this kind of weather late at night, as if to detox from everything else.

She was engrossed in her own thoughts, unaware of two cars that crept up on her, both of which seemed to have appeared out of thin air. One of the vehicles, a beaten up pick-up truck, started tailgating her car, honking angrily. It abruptly broke her from her trance.

"What the- Jesus just past me!" she uttered trying to glance at the asshole in her rearview mirror. The other car, which didn't seem to be with the pick-up drove up on her left side. It looked as though they were trying to pass her, but given the state of the roads, kept a steady pace alongside her. She looked over and saw a small red sports car with a design running across the doors. It almost had a tribal vibe to it, but with all the commotion she couldn't tell. She also tried to get a look at the driver, but their windows were very much tinted. She briefly wondered why anyone would drive a nice car like that in this kind of weather before she was thrown back in the situation with another angry honk from the driver behind.

"OH MY GOD! JUST PASS ME ASSHOLE!" She hollered as if she wanted the truck driver to hear her. She honestly couldn't understand what this person's problem was, they could easily pass her. Within the fleeting moments the driver behind finally sped up alongside her right side, boxing her in between their own truck and the red sports car. Olivia's body tensed, she was thrown into a hazardous situation, and an overwhelming feeling of dread welled in the pit of her stomach. The sports car seemed like it was trying get out of the situation, but the pickup kept speeding up to unsafe speeds on an ice covered road. The truck began to pass her, reeving its engine violently, as if to declare its alpha status. The truck had almost made it pass her, and for a split second, Olivia thought it was safe again. A wave of relief fell over her, finally rid of an obnoxious pest, when the truck unexpectedly lost control, hurling directly toward Olivia's car.

Her stomach dropped in sheer terror, "SHIT- SHIT!" She screamed in a desperate act to jerk the wheel to avoid collision, but the attempt was futile. The truck slammed her passenger side, the impact instantly shattering the windows along that side of the vehicle. The chain reaction caused her vehicle to collide into the sports car, and with the sheer amount of force delivered, tore through the car's metal like it was saran wrap. Her body lurched, slamming her head against the driver side window. The sounds of horror around her became muffled as she fell into a daze. Her body became limp, her thoughts slipping away into oblivion, where everything went black.

* * *

Olivia groaned as her eyes slowly opened. The streetlights seem to dance as her vision tried to readjust itself. The snow was still falling, even heavier than before. The large fluffy snowflakes glittered in the lights, as if they were trying to dance with them. She started to remember what had happened and remembered some asshole trying to speed past. She groaned again as she sat up, immediately wincing in pain. It felt like someone had taken a knife and stabbed it through the left side of her skull. She gently felt her left temple only to feel a warm wet sensation, accompanied with more pain. She drew her hand back and saw the blood, not really giving it much thought in the moment. She turned to look at her window, which had shattered in a spider webbed pattern decorated in her own blood. Her very being felt dazed, as if someone had wrenched her soul out of her body and was desperately trying to keep her in limbo. She had to coerce herself to move.

Olivia fumbled to find the door handle, until the cool plastic of the slim handle graced her fingers. She tugged at it, and upon opening it, she fell out, hitting the snowy covered ground. She moaned as the freezing snow graced every little cut and scrap the accident had given her. The sudden pain felt like thousands of tiny needles, tearing at every little injury she had, until the pain ebbed away into nothing, the cold numbing her senses. She didn't want to move, but laying out there on the icy ground wouldn't be beneficial to her, and she forced herself to stand. She let out a soft whimper, everything in her body ached. Her head throbbed and the world felt like it was spinning out of control. She struggled to stand, desperately trying to regain her faculties. She quickly looked around, trying to assess the damage, when the metallic shine of the red sports car caught her attention. The sports car looked in worse shape than her own and she quickly stammered over to it, only to discover the driver's side was pinned into the median concrete.

"Sir? Ma'am? Please give me an indication you're ok!" Olivia choked as she made it to passenger side of the car. She grabbed the car handle and to her surprise it was unlocked. She quickly opened it and peered inside, only to be greeted with an empty interior.

"What the- "was all she could uttered before a loud groan echoed from the sports car. She squeaked startled, stumbling backward toward the ground. She was dumbfounded, it's as if the car came to life on its own. Although she knew certain car models had push button starters, she quickly decided that the sound she heard wasn't the sound of an engine starting. The red car began to rev its engine, desperately spinning its tires to move itself, but when it was unsuccessful the car seem to let out a frustrated growl. The next thing to happen stunned Olivia as she watched the sports car transform, struggling to change from a vehicle to what looked like a giant robot. The car's transformation seemed hiccupped, and its struggling had it growling again, until it was able to become completely robotic. The being had to be at least twenty feet tall if not more. Flabbergasted she concluded that she might have hit her harder than she thought, and assumed she was caught in her own waking nightmare. After the car transformed, the giant titan struggled to stand, but instantly collapsed, clutching its left side.

"B-Base come in…in n-need of a ground bridge…" his male voice stammered trying to radio in what she assumed was help. He looked out onto the scene as his gaze instantly caught attention to Olivia staring up at him. Olivia froze as the robot's red eyes meet her own. He looked pissed. Olivia's whole body felt bolted to the ground, still franticly trying to grasp the situation, and found herself only staring back in awe. Much of the titan's right side looked heavily damage, the metal twisted and torn, indicative of where the driver's side of his car form was. It looked like the robot was bleeding out as what she could only assume was blood oozing from his side. The luminous blue liquid slowly dripped out from the bot's slender digits, and had either dripped down his side or fell to the ground. They both continued to stare at one another, with what felt like an eternity.

' _Please don't squish me'_ was one of the many thoughts rattling around in Olivia's brain. She was also debating with herself on whether or not to help him. A normal person probably would have taken off in the other direction, but something kept telling her it wouldn't be right. Seeing him like this, struggling, desperately trying to cling to life had her experiencing immense amounts of empathy. She couldn't quite understand how he was able to feel or experience pain, but she had to be open-minded. She was desperately trying to find a solution to aid him from his suffering. Her throbbing headache wasn't helping her cause either, but then it clicked.

"I-er-a- I think I might be able to help…wait here…" She said, her gaze still on his as she stood, then quickly spun around on her heels stumbling back to her car.

' _Wait here… Jesus what stupid thing to say…'_ she thought as she popped her trunk. He obviously wasn't going anywhere, otherwise he probably would have drove off by now, or worse… She shuddered at the different scenarios racing through her head. What if someone was playing a cruel joke on her, or this was a military experiment gone terribly awry. They would take her away for interfering. Her thoughts were running wild. What if he was some alien experiment and he escaped the compounds? She wasn't one for believing in such silly conspiracies, but now... She had to force herself back into the bigger picture. Whatever he or it was, she felt compelled to help him. She fished around in her truck and grabbed a rather large plush purple blanket. She usually kept a big comfy blanket for trips to the beach or other instances. She never thought she would need it for first aid. The act of using a bandage or cloth to put pressure over a wound, was a standard norm among humans to help slow the bleeding, and Olivia hoped the same could be applied for whatever he was. She quickly raced back over to the large red robot, each step more painful than the last.

"H-Here, this might help slow the bleeding." She choked. Everything seemed to be spinning violently. He looked down at her in a rather surprised manner, as if he wasn't used to someone helping him. He said nothing, but grabbed the blanket from her to place over his wound. She took a few steps back, shaking head to toe, as she rested her hands on her knees. What was she doing anyways, she didn't even know who or what this thing was. The size of him alone could have easily overpowered her, but he seemed to be in far worse condition, at least she wasn't bleeding out, and Olivia assumed that hurting her wasn't the first thing on his mind.

"C-Come in base. Breakdown…anyone…" She heard his voice stammering again as he tried to com someone. At this point she didn't care, she only wanted to focus on not passing out.

* * *

' _Frag Megatron to the pits for putting me on this mission! I swear if he ever gets back on my operating table I'll-'_ the mech's thoughts became broken by the sound of the human girl coughing. Her blood caught the light as it dripped down the side of her face onto her mostly black wardrobe. She didn't seem to be doing well. Her line of sight remained toward the ground as she teetered around trying to maintain her balance. As he was watching her he couldn't help but wonder why she was helping him, being so nice to him. He figured she did crash into him, although it wasn't her fault… that's right he nearly forgot. With how much Energon he was losing he couldn't even think straight. He began to quickly scan the area only to see that pickup truck a ways down. He let out another frustrated growl. When he got his hands on that skinjob. The female human looked up toward him again with an uneasy stare. He changed his visual direction and tried to radio the Nemesis again. Moments passed and he was once again greeted with a dead signal. His patience was growing thin. If someone didn't come for him soon, then he would surely bleed out. He could only imagine that they left him for dead, or that some idiot con broke the system. He could only think the worst for how they treated him sometimes, before his thoughts became interrupted with the sound of a male voice.

"YOU FUCKING BITCH!" the voice yelled, it was the human from the pickup truck. This man seemed to have come out of nowhere, screaming at the girl like it had been all her fault, and she shot up startled.

"Huh-"She barely made out before she was struck across her head. Her body fell limp as she fell to the ground. Watching her small body fall somehow infuriated the mech. The man must have not even noticed that a few feet in front of him knelt a large titan hovering over him. The man just kept looking at the girl with such contempt. The human readied his weapon for another strike.

"THAT'S IT!" The mech growled, mustering enough strength to grab the male human. The human screamed and the mech pull him to visual view. This flesh bag simply reeked of something strong, possibly alcohol. He heard a lot of humans partaking in ingestion of such a beverage. Right now that didn't matter though. He was enraged, and he wanted this sad excuse of an organic dead. The human squirmed around in his hand and just kept screaming. This annoyed the mech even more.

"You made the _BIGGEST_ mistake." The mech growled and with the last ounce of strength he had he crushed the life out the male. The man choked out one last scream until his body lay limp, and he toss him to the ground. The mech slightly fumbled a little. Crushing the flesh bag took more energy out of him than he should have used. Catching his breath he looked over to the human girl, she appeared to still be breathing, but barely. The thought crossed his mind about ending her spark, but seeing her lying lifeless in the snow, he couldn't bring himself to do something like that to her…why did she have to help him anyways, it would have made thing a lot easier is she hadn't but, he looked down at his wound. The thing she handed him seemed to be helping the bleeding slow. He looked at her motionless body once more, and a feeling overtook his spark. For whatever reason he wanted to help her… his own feelings seemed to betray him. Since when did he care about some stupid human? She was the one that crashed into him, scratched his paint job, and caused him to possibly bleed to death in some stupid human town. The mech tried to justify his thoughts. ' _But it wasn't her fault…'_

Just then a green vortex opened up before and a large blue mech walked through.

"Primus Knock Out! What happened?!" The blue mech sprinted over to where Knock Out knelt. The red mech responded with a snarl.

"N-Never mind that Breakdown, h-help me the frag up!" Knock Out snapped as Breakdown went to grab his bleeding body, but Knockout abruptly halted him.

"W-Wait-"he hesitated, "Grab the fleshy first…" his voice trailed off as he pointed toward the human girl. Breakdown looked puzzled.

"Just hide her in your chassis; I'll explain later." Knock Out coughed. Breakdown grew a look of concern over his face, but reluctantly grabbed the human and with the sound of shifting gears, popped opened his chest, placing her inside. Then swiftly helped Knock Out up. The red mech cringed in pain.

"ARGH! Careful!" Knock Out snapped, clearly the red mech wasn't use to this.

"Come on…Let's get you to the medbay and patch you up." Breakdown replied and he walked both of them through the swirling green vortex.


	2. Chapter 2- Recovery

There was only a sea of black, an emptiness that enveloped her. Nothing seemed to matter until… Olivia's conscience was fighting to reassert itself. She heard a faint sound in the distance, a voice. A soft groan escaped her lipsasshe desperately tried to gather her thoughts. Her whole body felt heavy as if someone was sitting on her. Even her eyes refused to cooperate. She forced them open ever so slightly and the world around her appeared blurry and gray, like trying to look into the bottom of a rippling pond. Nothing made sense. Was she dreaming? Could she possibly be dead? If she was dead, then the afterlife was a cruel joke. She started freaking herself out. _'Ok keep it together,'_ she kept telling herself, trying so very hard to find comfort in those words. Suddenly, she caught a glimpse of red in her peripheral vison and directed her attention toward it. It looked humanoid, but she couldn't tell. She let out another groan, catching the attention of the figure in red.

"Ah look who finally decided to wake up." The figure snidely remarked, "Was almost starting to think you never would."

' _That voice…'_ it sounded familiar and yet… Olivia forced her eyes open even wider and tried to sit up. She cringed, she felt incredibly weak, and her whole her body ached terribly.

"Easy now, you're still not out of the pits yet." The figure spoke again, but their tone had changed to a sympathetic one. The fogginess in her eyes began to subside, and she looked at him in shock. Pieces of her memory were resurfacing, and she remembered him from that unfortunate night.

"Y-You!" Olivia stuttered. The injuries he had from that night were gone, like nothing ever happened. How long was she unconscious for? So many questions raked her brain that she wanted answers to. The mech merely smirked.

"Come now dear, I know your vocal processer isn't damaged." His smooth voice replied, having made his way over to where she laid.

He stepped into one of the many lights fixed to the ceiling and Olivia realized she didn't see much of him the night they first met. His body was mostly decorated in a metallic cherry paint while parts of his arms and legs were of a matte charcoal silver color. His face was the color of snow – his jaw, long and pointed. A red helm, or what she assumed, covered the top of his head and the sides of his face. It almost looked like he was wearing a suit of armor. Things such as car doors and wheels also consisted of his appearance. He exuded confidence, even an arrogance about him. The mech was definitely a sight to see, and for a robot, he was attractive, and he knew it. She looked up at him speechless. She had forgotten how large he actually was compared to her, and he towered over her from where she laid. His height made her feel so small, insignificant even, but his eyes… she remembered his glowing red eyes from that night. Only this time they appeared softer, less rigid. She found herself still staring at him, still in awe over him. She had never seen anything quite like him before. Sure she had seen robots before, but never one that experienced emotion or independent thought. Maybe he really was some kind of alien, but that only made her wondered why he was even out there that night. Surely he had better things to do than take a drive in a snow storm. She silently remained fixated on him for many moments, lost in her own thoughts. The mech only stared back at her, eventually leading him to sigh at her vacant response.

"Very well then." He interjected, then he laid his hands on the silver table where Olivia was laying and closed his eyes. Naturally, she drew a confused look over her face.

"Is this better?" the sound of the mech's voice came from a different direction. Olivia quickly followed his voice over to a smaller version of himself a few feet away. Her confusion only grew, did he use a projection of himself?

"Holomatter, it lets me go places I wouldn't be able to fit, and lets me work with smaller things my hands are too big for." He explained, almost as if he were reading her thoughts. The mech walked over to her side and knelt down. Even if he had made himself 'human sized' he still looked a couple of feet taller compared to her. She remained silent as she watched him fiddle around with a transparent pad. She wondered what he was even doing until she saw him try to lean in closer to her. Not knowing his motives she panicked, quickly pulling herself away from him. She couldn't possibly imagine why he had her or for what purpose, and that thought alone unnerved her. The mech looked puzzled at first before he caught on to her body language and immediately sighed in protest.

"Now really, if I was going to hurt you, you'd already be offline by now." His voice trailed off and sly grin crept across his face. He was using a lot of terms she didn't normally hear, but understood it enough to get the idea. A terrible feeling sank into her chest and a natural instinct yelled at her to get up. She forced herself up, but quickly collapsed backwards.

"Ow- ow." She whimpered, only to realize then in the moment her left hand was placed in a make-shift splint. She quickly felt the mech rest his hand on her back as he huffed in aggravation.

"I _told_ you to lay down. You're in no condition to stand." His voice sounded frustrated, but his face said a different thing. He genuinely looked concerned, worried even. She continued to stare up at him as he helped her lay back. Maybe he had good intentions after all.

"You're acting as stubborn as some of the mechs I know around here…" He scoffed, shaking his head.

"Now where were we?" he mused before leaning in again, this time running the data pad over her body. Olivia could only guess that he was scanning her, and in a few seconds he pulled back and started fiddling again.

"Well it looks like the swelling seems to have gone down... How do you feel right now?" he looked up at her waiting for a response. She looked back at him. She still had so many questions that clouded her thoughts that she wasn't preoccupying herself with how she felt.

"W-where are we?" She asked, blatantly dodging his other question. He rose a brow.

"That wasn't the answer I wanted, but if you must know we're on board the Nemesis, a ship I reside in." he paused, and a crooked smile crept up on his lips. "We're miles in the sky so any plans of escape will be pointless."

A frustrated sigh escaped her lips. One minute he was sincere toward her, the next disparaging.

He placed the data pad down, expecting her to ask another question, and his assumption wasn't wrong.

"H-How long have I been unconscious for?"

"A few solar cycles." He replied. Her eyes widened with shock, she really hoped that meant days.

"W-why am I here?"

The mech deviously chuckled, "My dear, if I didn't bring you on board you'd probably be offline by now. My medical tech is far more superior compared to anything you fleshies have come up with." his response seemed to stroke his own ego.

Olivia let out an aggravated huff, "So- what, you're like a doctor or something?" She didn't like how frequently his tone changed, and it was making it difficult to get a read on him. It was almost as if he was trying to counter other emotions she saw he let slip.

The mech's lips crept up into a smirk, "As a matter of fact-" His sentence was cut off by the sound of a metal door sliding open.

"Scrap!" Fear over took his face and his holomatter flickered out. His larger body re-activated quickly turning toward the door. Another very large robot had entered the room. This particular robot stood a lot taller than his red friend and had a broader frame- much boxier than the red bot. He had a lot of Blue covering most of his body, which looked very dented and scuffed up in comparison to his friend. His orange face, mostly encased in his own helm, made his cheekbones very prominent. Like the red bot he also adorned random wheels and car-like parts. The red mech sighed in relief but quickly became agitated.

"Slag it all Breakdown, you practically caused my spark to offline." The red mech huffed, stomping over to him.

Breakdown only rolled his eyes, "I'm the only one you gave the door code to, remember?"

This irked the red mech even more, "Yes, but there have been too many close calls already, if Megatron found out I had a human on board without his knowledge, he'd have my spark!"

"He'd have both _OUR_ sparks. Don't forget I have been keeping _your_ secret." Breakdown snapped, quite irritated. Olivia didn't know who this Megatron person was, but it had both of the bots before her in a tizzy.

The red mech sighed, "I haven't forgotten that." The red mech paused for a moment and Olivia watched as some mutual understanding took place between the two bots.

"Did you get the stuff?" the red mech asked Breakdown.

"Yeah. "He replied and Olivia watched him as he pull out something small, something she couldn't quite make out, and handed it to the red mech. His eyes then drew its attention toward Olivia whom he noticed had been eavesdropping. He didn't really pay any mind, but it had her quickly looking away from embarrassment.

"How is your ' _pet_ ' anyway?" Breakdown asked looking back at the red mech. The red mech instantly let out a noise of disapproval, immediately showing signs of embarrassment.

"She is _not_ my pet! Ergh! You know the situation!" It was clear that the red mech became all flustered and defensive. Olivia on the other hand didn't like how rude they were being. They both had said nothing but derogatory things about her and her species since she woke up.

"Excuse me, but I can still hear you!" Olivia mustered up enough strength to shout at them from across the room, as she forced herself to sit back up again. This time using her good arm. This caught their attention, and both the red mech and Breakdown looked back at her. The red mech practically freaked when he saw her sitting up.

"Primus! Doesn't anybody ever listen to me?!" the mech let out an aggravated sigh, and rushed back over to her. Breakdown started to laugh, but Olivia wasn't amused.

"For your information, my name is Olivia. Not _'pet'_ or _'fleshy'_." She voiced aggressively as both bots quickly exchange surprised glances.

"Oh- I." Breakdown rubbed the back of his head, who seemed caught off guard by her remark as the red mech rolled his eyes.

"Well, if I promise to address you by your real name will you lay back down?" He sighed resting the small object that Breakdown handed him before onto the table, which now looked like a paper bag. Olivia felt a tad apprehensive, but nodded and laid back. He projected a holomatter image of himself once again and walked back over to her with the bag. Her eyes mindlessly followed him, before she realized she still didn't know his name.

"Now… I caught that his name is Breakdown, correct?" Olivia paused and looked toward Breakdown for a moment as he nodded.

"But..." She paused again and smirked. She was feeling a bit brave.

"Do _you_ have a name? I'm guessing it isn't 'Giant cherry'." Olivia quipped and Breakdown abruptly guffawed at her remark. At first the red mech was taken aback, then quickly glared back at Breakdown.

"Don't encourage her!" he growled looking back at Olivia, "It's Knock Out, and I don't look anything like a cherry!" What his voice tried to hide his eyes could not. He genuinely looked hurt, like someone had picked on him for the first time in his life. Olivia nervously smirked.

"I'm sorry, but you kind of deserved it." She replied, now feeling bad for her silly offhanded comment, but she couldn't contain her laughter. After all she had experienced in a matter of days it felt good to relieve some tension. Maybe there was more to her captors than harsh insults. She started to giggle, but immediately winced in pain. She felt the pain to be totally worth it. Knock Out scoffed.

"Point taken. Now stop exerting yourself."

* * *

Knock Out was still lamenting on her remark, even if it was harmless. In hindsight he did kind of have it coming. When it came to having contact with humans, they were always very cynical toward them. After all the Deceptions showed no remorse for harvesting their planet for resources, why even bother growing attached to them. He knelt down and reached into the bag. He had asked Breakdown to run an errand of retrieving proper human medical supplies for the girl. He had better tech, but finding anything onboard the ship small enough to bandage her up with had proven difficult. He pulled out some gauze.

' _Why is this bothering me anyways?!'_ He thought as he began unraveling the soft material. He was never one to take anyone's remarks too seriously, especially a human's, but this was rubbing his circuits the wrong way. He felt a little hurt and suddenly felt himself worrying about what she thought. The feeling greatly confused him. He forced himself to shake it off for the moment as he leaned in to redress her head. He felt her optics piercing him, but when his optics would meet hers, she quickly diverted her gaze. Knock Out cleared his throat.

"Like I said before you had quite a bit of swelling. A concussion you humans call it. This caused you to power down for a few cycles. I was able to stabilize you, and stitch you up, with some help from my assistant." Knock Out gestured toward Breakdown. Olivia looked up into his optics. He felt another question coming.

"How do you know so much about human anatomy anyways? It's obvious you don't have any other humans on board."

Knock Out chuckled, "Human data bases aren't that hard to crack my dear." He sneered, and she instantly frowned at him. It was definitely fun to get some payback. He watched her squirm at his remark, but Olivia pressed to ask another question.

"How were you able to help me? Last time I saw you, you were torn open….and…" She trailed off for moment as if she was reliving that night, "T-That man…I remember he…" Olivia seemed to lose her voice. She looked troubled, as if it suddenly hit her the reality of her near death experience. For all intents and purposes Knock Out did prevent that skin bag from extinguishing her spark, an act he himself was still questioning. Why go to all of this trouble, why risk his very existence on this ship for her. He watched her sway in a desperate attempt to fight back the tears. The sadness in her optics wrenched his very spark. He suddenly felt like he needed to say something. He rested his servo on her shoulder, a custom he normally didn't do.

"He's no longer a problem." His voice was sincere and reassuring. It became quiet, and he half expected her to question him, but it never came. It was almost as if hearing his answer was enough to soothe her doubts. She looked into his optics again, as if she were trying to read his very spark, and smiled warmly at him. He started to feel himself fumbling over his emotions again.

He quickly spoke, "As for being injured- we're able to recover rather quickly, given if we have the proper tools and parts… Although it wasn't easy." He paused, then smiled, "Luckily for the both of us, Breakdown is a really good assistant."

They both briefly looked toward Breakdown who had preoccupied himself with a data pad. Knock Out finished dressing her head, then reached into the bag again. He pulled out a splint, and shifted toward her wrist.

"You sustained a minor fracture in your servo joint, but this should help limit movement for healing." He kept pre-occupying his thoughts with medical jumble. He wasn't use to working on humans, and tried to handle her in the gentlest manner. Knock Out felt her gaze back on him. He tried to ignore it by focusing on her wrist.

"For someone who probably learned human medicine in a day, you seem to know what you're doing pretty well…" she sounded impressed in his abilities. Knock Out smiled in her direction. He loved it when he was complimented.

"I try to do my best, given the circumstances." He replied completing her repairs.

She seemed lost in herself for a moment, biting her lip, then looked back to Knock Out.

"For what it's worth…T-Thank you, Knock Out." He paused to look at her, a bit shocked. He wasn't use to receiving gratitude so openly, not on this ship.

"I-" He quickly tried to regain his composure, "It was nothing, after all I should be thanking you for helping me." He hoped she didn't notice him fumbling over himself, but she began to look troubled again.

"W-when will I be able to leave?"

Knock Out froze, unsure how to respond. He couldn't just let her leave. Not after what happened, she had seen too much. She could run to the authorities, it could lead back to the Autobots, or worse… Megatron. Megatron had eyes and ears everywhere, and if one energon cube was out if place, he would know about it. He was honestly surprised that they managed to keep Megatron in the dark in regards to their ' _hostage'_. He started to feel her optics pierce him again. He had to think fast.

"Tired of us already? "He quipped. It was all he could muster, but it detoured her just enough.

She looked embarrassed, "T-that's not what I meant! I just-"Her voice suddenly became cut off by another voice from the com.

"Knock Out, Breakdown. Report to the bridge immediately!" The booming voice barked.

"Scrap!" Knock Out panicked and flickered back into his body. They were lucky enough to have at least one of them on guard for the past few days, but now… Knock Out very gently scooped Olivia up. She felt so light in his servos.

"W-What's going on?" she asked, looking quite worried. Knock Out and Breakdown exchanged concerned glances.

"No time to explain." He had to find a place for her to hide and fast. He could try to hide her somewhere in the lab, but knowing his luck they'd probably find her while they were on the bridge. He had no options.

"I'm going to have to hide you in my chassis. It's a little snug, but…" This felt incredibly awkward for him, he wasn't use to this kind of thing. Something else also nagged at his spark. He actually felt himself worrying for her safety. In comparison to a lot of other humans they had encountered in the past she was so small, so delicate. For the first time, he found himself worrying about someone else other than himself. He wanted to protect her, and aside from his partner Breakdown, his other 'allies' wouldn't be so forgiving on her.

"You have to keep absolutely quiet, no matter what happens. It won't be good for either of us if Megatron finds out."

She didn't question him, but he could tell she was anxious.

"Don't worry, I'll try not to rattle you around too much." He hoped that was enough to soothe her anxiety. She nervously smiled, and he carefully place her inside.

"Ready?" Breakdown spoke with hesitancy in his voice. He'd thought for sure they were both busted. Knock Out nodded, but nothing could prepare him for what could happen.


	3. Chapter 3- Missing

Located just outside of Jasper Nevada, resided a military base very few knew about. It was deep inside one of Nevada's iconic plateaus for secrecy. During the cold war it had shown use as a missile silo, but since the war ended they found a different purpose for such a massive construct. The base, though simplistic in design, had a very industrial feel to it. The bases concrete walls conformed to the natural shape of the plateau. Pipelines and large florescent lights made up much of the facility that served many a primary function. Very large alien like computers also occupied the very massive space, but looked miniscule compared to the size of the headquarters.

In there stood five giant titans, all of which looked very robotic in nature. Their species, known as Cybertronians, had come from a war ravage planet known to them as Cybertron. Only a very special part of the military knew about their existence, and very few had the opportunity to learn about them. The Special Forces sheltered them from human knowledge and kept their opposing faction, the Decepticons, from knowing their whereabouts. The Autobots- as the military and their enemies knew them by- all varied in different sizes and colors. Accompanying the Autobot team were three human teens, who at some point, found out about their secret. In fear that the Deceptions might take their human friends hostage for siding with the Autobots, the leader of the Autobots assigned each human to a Cybertronian comrade for protection. The teens were playing video games in on a lower platform, which really only consisted of a couch, makeshift table, and a television. Sounds of a race car game radiated throughout the facility while the Autobots seemed preoccupied in their own endeavors.

"PRIME!" a voice suddenly echoed through the very large octagonal base. A dark man, middle-aged, stepped off the elevator and onto a tall concrete platform. His face looked rigid and worn, like the kind of worn that occurs from seeing much experience in the military. The man's angry shout had caught the attention of everyone in the room. His broad, square face writhed in aggravation as he waved around a manila envelope.

"Is something the matter Agent Fowler?" another spoke, a baritone- soft spoken voice, which came from one of the Autobots. His team and teenage allies knew him as Optimus Prime, or Optimus for short. He was the tallest bot out of their group. His robotic body was painted with blue and red paint, and the car-like parts that decorated his outer exterior resembled parts that belonged to an 18 wheeler. His paintjob was neither pristine, nor ragged. His square face held soft forgiving optics which portrayed many a millennia of wisdom that looked onward toward the perturbed agent.

"Are you keeping tabs on your men Prime?!" Fowler barked, eyeing everyone in the room. One of the other bots, an orange and white mech, whom everyone knew as Ratchet, scoffed at Fowlers accusation. Ratchet was known as the doctor or scientist of the group, who stood much shorter than Optimus. His body was curved and pointed, parts he adorned resembled an ambulance vehicle. He was the type that preferred peace and quiet, and on more than one occasion, protested openly about their contact with humans. His long rectangular face- encased in a round pointed helm- looked rather grumpy as he rolled his optics at the presence of another human joining their midst.

"Is there something you wish to share?" Optimus spoke with worry in his voice. When Fowler came off the elevator in a bad mood, he always expected the worst. What could they have possibly done this time?

"There was an incident on the east coast. Two vehicles found on an interstate, both appeared to have been in a car accident. It looks like there may have been a third vehicle, but it was long gone when the police arrived on the scene." He halted for a moment while another bot chimed in.

"Why are you telling us this?" an olive green mech spoke, whom his friends and comrades knew him as Bulkhead. He was a little shorter than Optimus, but much wider than his leader. For the most part his body was very rounded, proudly displaying dents and nicks from previous battles. He looked at Fowler, unimpressed with his statement. Fowler then reached into the manila envelope, and pulled out a tan case file.

"Trace amounts of a blue substance, unidentifiable to police, was found at the scene. The owner of the brown ford pick- up truck was found feet away from his vehicle crushed to death, while the driver of the silver Jetta remains missing." He held up photos in front of Optimus. Optimus leaned in to get a better look, as did everyone else in the room. Fowler quickly scanned his audience in hopes that he may find his missing driver. The photos in the case file displayed what looked like a typical car accident, but as Optimus made his way through the photos he saw the glowing blue substance that police couldn't identify. The photos contained much blood, human and Cybertronian alike.

"Energon…" the photos strongly unsettled Optimus.

"Wicked!" A girl's voce boldly interjected. She managed to catch a glimpse of the file. One of the Autobots charges, she was a small Japanese girl- only 15, but what she lacked in stature, she made up for in attitude. Her hair and clothes always made a statement and she was by far the most rambunctious of the three teenagers.

"Miko!" Bulkhead placed stress in his vocal processor as if to quell his partner's bluntness. Fowler wasn't pleased.

"Now I had to pull a lot of strings to ensure everyone involved kept their mouths shut, so would someone please explain to me what the _HELL_ happened?!" Fowler was fuming, he expected by now the Autobots would learn to be more careful, but there was always something.

"Well it certainly wasn't us!" Ratchet piped up, the disdain clear in his voice for Fowler's accusations.

"I can assure you Agent Fowler, that had we been involved, no harm would have come to any human there." Optimus' words were genuine as his optics met Fowlers.

"This must be the cons doing," Another voice spoke, a smaller blue bot, slender and shorter in frame from the rest of her counterparts. The others knew her as Arcee. She may have been smaller than her teammates, but she was quick on the field and could pack quite a wallop, "But why would they have interest in a human?"

"Now, let's not get ahead of ourselves. For all we know the missing in question ran off before the Decepticons realized there was another human nearby. Agent Fowler, do you have a description of the missing driver?" Optimus tried to sound positive for the rest of his team, but something in his spark had a dreading suspicion that the human fell into the hands of the Decepticons.

"When we ran the plates it came up belonging to a girl in her late- 20's–an Olivia Monoceros. Family members that were interviewed said they haven't heard from her in a few days. Last time anyone had seen or heard from her, she was leaving her college campus." Fowler held up a photo of the girl's license.

"Then the cons must have her! We have to get her back!" Bulkhead professed as if he was ready to leave right then and there. He couldn't image Miko falling into the hands of a cons much less a random girl. They tried so very hard to keep the public from knowing about their kind, so he imaged the worst when some innocent civilian fell into the hands of the Decepticon.

A yellow and black bot chimed in with the sounds of synthetic chirps, as if agreeing with Bulkhead. Everyone knew him as Bumblebee or 'Bee'. Unlike his friends he couldn't speak vocally so he had to compensate with many beeps, whistle, and chirps, like the sounds you hear from a computer. He was short and stocky, the Autobot's scout. His components were that of a shiny sports car, though his paintjob was far from stellar, a trait that bee didn't seem to mind. His blue optics looked worried.

"As of right now that remains unclear, but nevertheless we must tread with caution. If the Decepticons do have her, we have to work swiftly in recovering her." Optimus rested his servos on Bulkhead's shoulder, displaying the same concern as they all did. Optimus was worried for this girl's safety and imaged how terrified one could be in the wrong hands.

' _Terrific, just what we need, another human to babysit.'_ Ratchet rolled his optics at his passing thought. Why did these humans always manage to get in the way of the Decepticons? Granted Ratchet was slowing growing accustom to their teen companions, but that still didn't make him any less receptive.

"I will be heading over to the girl's home in a short while to see if she made it back, if she did at all." Fowler stated returning everything to the case file, "I could use some back up if the place is crawling with cons."

Optimus nodded to Fowler, "Ratchet prepare the ground bridge."

* * *

"What do you think Megatron wants?" Breakdown broke the awkward silence, looking on to his partner while they walked down an immense gunmetal gray hallway.

"With him it could be anything…" Knock Out seemed terribly distracted. Each step he took was soft and aware, all the while gingerly running his sharp servos across his chassis containing his precious cargo. Breakdown had never seen his partner like this before. Ever since they brought the human girl onboard the ship Knock Out's CPU seemed elsewhere. What hold did she have over his partner? Knock Out was never the one to welcome any type of organic with open arms, so Breakdown wanted to know why this human was so different. Despite Knock Out's attempts at acting like himself, Breakdown knew his partner better than that. He watched Knock Out continue to look worried, occasionally glancing down at his chassis. Breakdown rested a servo on Knock Out's shoulder.

"Everything will be ok…just try not to act so…" Breakdown gestured at the entirety of Knock Out. He wanted to believe his own words, even though he was probably just as concerned as Knock Out. Knock Out seemed a little surprised, but not really. Knock Out let a slight laugh.

"Is it that obvious?" Knock Out sounded a little embarrassed.

"If I can notice it, then you can bet your spark Megatron is going to say something."

They continued to walk down the dim hall, which seemed like a never ending abyss. Both fell silent as Knock Out hastily pulled himself together. It was clawing at him that he couldn't ask his patient if she was alright. She had kept to her word and was ever silent, so much so that it was the kind of unnatural silence that Soundwave- Megatron's communications chief -would display on a daily basis. Who knew a human could be as silent as Soundwave. If it weren't for her occasionally shifting he felt her do he would have assumed the worst.

They came upon on large pointed archway, which enclosed a metal barrier. As they approached, the barrier gave way in an instant, revealing what everyone knew as the Bridge, or Megatron's sanctuary. The bridge was very round, grey, and dark in appearance, adorned with many windows that conformed to the very circumference of the room. This perk was great for gaining tactical information of enemy warships or just plain sightseeing. Although both Knock Out and Breakdown were positive that Megatron never took in the sights. Their entry point lead to a walkway of sorts that protruded out over a drop. A few feet down from the drop was graced by a circular window, overlooking the world below. Purple and red hues glowed through much of the walls and beams, intertwining the whole ominous appearance the bridge seemed to emanate.

"Knock Out. Breakdown. So good of you to grace me with your presence." A deep resonating voice spoke with a sting in his words. It was none other than Megatron himself, Lord and ruler of the Decepticons. He stood much taller than both of them, his silver body reflected much of the room's sinister charm. His physique was nothing if not sharp and vicious. His servos as sharp as his teeth, and his tongue shaper. His red optics dashed toward them.

"The pleasure is all ours my liege." Knock Out gestured toward their boss. If there was anything that the Decepticons taught Knock Out, it was to keep his emotions in check under interrogation. Just like that he was able to check his jitters before the door, like an actor before entering the stage.

"I take it you made a swift recovery?" Megatron's optics were like daggers as he looked directly at Knock Out, as if trying to pierce his very spark.

"Indeed, and then some." Knock Out replied, remaining unruffled.

"Refresh me Knock Out, what happened exactly?"

Knock Out started to tense a bit. Had Megatron found out what really happened? Or was he just playing his usual mind games. He cleared his vocal processors.

"Well Lord Megatron, I was scouting for the energon deposit that Soundwave detected, when the blasted Autobots showed up. I manage to keep most of them at bay, but one of them jumped me." Knock Out told Megatron exactly what he wanted to hear, and told it exactly how he told it before. Always make sure your story is the same, unwavering, as if he himself believed it to be true. He had to, for her, his partner, and his sake. That, and he couldn't very well let Megatron know that a bunch of humans caused his near death experience. Without warning, like a snapping cobra, Megatron jolted face to face with Knock Out. It seemed like Megatron was in a special mood today. Startled, Knock Out jumped back. He felt Olivia suddenly shift again, more like bounce, but she never uttered a sound. He however, thought they were both done for.

"Breakdown, were there Autobots around when you came through the Groundbridge?" Megatron's gaze never left Knock Out's as if to watch his reactions. Knock Out was indeed terrified, but he knew better.

"Yeah, I almost got my aft handed to me trying to pull Knock Out back through." Breakdown, like his partner kept the story the same. If it was one thing he could count on, it was his partner. Megatron kept his focus on Knock Out, but eventually released him of his treacherous gaze and returned to normal stance.

"And the energon deposit still hasn't been located yet?" Megatron placed his servos behind his back and began to circumvent Knock Out, like a vulture circling his prey.

"Correct, Lord Megatron."

"Then I suggest you finish what you started Knock Out- Breakdown accompany him this time-" Megatron halted and again became uncomfortably close to Knock Out. "And Knock Out, you better not disappoint me again!" Megatron's twisted words sent shivers down to his very spark.

"Y-Yes Lord Megatron." Knock Out gestured graciously toward their dictator and slowly backed away. When he felt it safe he quickly spun around on his peds, and he and Breakdown both briskly exited the room. Finally safe out of Megatron's tyranny, all Knock Out could think about was getting Olivia out of his chassis. Neither Breakdown nor Knock Out spoke as they hastily made their long trek back to the medbay, safely behind locked doors.

"I thought he was going to throw us into the smelting pit for sure." Breakdown slunk back into a wall as a wave of relief came over him. "Primus I'm glad that's over."

Knock Out didn't seem to pay attention to Breakdown as he quickly popped open his chassis to reveal Olivia once more. She held her hand in front of her eyes to shield herself from the invasive light that had entered the chamber. A look of relief had come over Knock Out as he quickly extracted her and held her in his servos. He inspected her and from his observation she looked alright, but he had to be sure.

"How do you feel? I hope I wasn't too bumpy." The same look he expressed before when she first awoke came over his eyes again. He looked worried for her, and without thinking, delicately took one of his fingers and brushed some of the loose strands of blonde hair that fell on her face. She couldn't help but wonder, why in these moments he showed her such affection, such worry. Her small, but full lips bashfully smiled at him.

"I-I'm ok..." she stuttered, a wave of emotion overtook her and she wasn't sure what to say to him. She placed her right hand on his to ensure him everything was fine, and a sound she never heard before, it sounded like fans, turned on. It was coming from Knock Out, and whether he seemed to realize it or not He was beaming at her.

"Seems your vocal processor has faltered again." He replied with a rather silly smile. Both of them were sharing some short of moment, and in some strange way Olivia didn't seem to mind, and even welcomed it. She liked this side of him, and wanted to see more of it. She suddenly felt her face heating up.

"A-hem." Breakdown cleared his vocal processor. Both of them apparently forgot Breakdown was still in the room.

"Oh- uhh." Knock Out found himself fumbling over his own words a lot lately. He quickly rested Olivia back on the table and spun around to face Breakdown. Breakdown merely shook his head.

"I hate to intrude, but what are we going to do about her? She obviously can't stay here while we're out scouting for energon." Breakdown crossed his servos expecting an answer from Knock Out. Olivia knew where they were headed; Knock Out wasn't exactly soundproof as she had heard Megatron order him to return to her hometown. This gave her the opportunity to ask them to bring her home. After being unconscious for a few days, a pang of hunger crept up on her, and she desperately wanted to shower. She was still wearing the same clothes from the accident which had become encrusted with her own blood. She looked like a murder victim and overall she felt very uncomfortable.

"Well… If you're both heading back to my area, you could just drop me off-"

"Absolutely not, we can't just let you leave!" Knock Out's unexpectedly cut Olivia off, his tone completely changed. The innocent moment they shared had all but dissipated and Knock Out fell back behind his haughty attitude. It was like he was throwing back up some kind of emotional barrier. She was shocked, if not confused, and if she wasn't seated she probably would have fallen where she stood. She couldn't help but stare at him slack-jawed, and began to feel a sense of dread. To her, what could she do to stop him from keeping her there, and she felt her stomach twist in a wave of anxiety. If he kept her locked away, she would never see the outside world again. She would never smell the fresh air after a rainstorm, or feel the warmth of the sun on her skin. There were so many things that she hadn't even begun to do, and she obviously couldn't very well do that trapped in a flying metal prison. The more she thought about it, the more ridiculous it sounded to her, and her fear turned into rage.

"Wait, Why not?!" She snapped at him. If she was force to stay, then she wanted a damn good explanation as to why she couldn't leave. They couldn't just lock her away like some princess being locked away in her tower. She had a life, she had family, and friends who by this time were probably worried sick about her. They probably thought she had been kidnapped, and she was starting to wonder herself if these bots weren't holding her hostage for their own personal endeavors. But if Knock Out was keeping her hostage, why would he go to all the trouble of patching her up and hiding her. Why show any emotion at all that he cared. Knock Out was surprised at her sudden flare in temper, and he looked at her speechless. Either he couldn't find the words or he didn't want to. This just frustrated Olivia even more.

"Well?!" She threw all logic and fear out the window when she yelled at him. She was well aware of the size comparison, but she just didn't care anymore. With the lack of response, accompanied with her own pain and exhaustion, she just wanted him to answer. Why wasn't he saying anything, what was so difficult about this. Breakdown looked rather surprised, he didn't think such a small thing could be that angry. Knock Out saw the fire in her optics, and all of it was directed at him. He half regretted snapping at her, but it still didn't changed anything. He wasn't ready to let her go. Moments passed with what seemed like years when Knock Out finally crossed his servos and chuckled.

"Well, look who has a short temper." His voice exaggerated those words as he yet again dodged the question, as if trying his hardest to avoid it. Olivia let out a sigh, as if to expel her seething anger, and tried a different approach.

"Look… I don't know how things are up done up here on your " _space ship"_ , but I haven't eaten or showered in days. I'd like to at least be allowed to get some food and get a change of clothes." She looked directly into his eyes. Maybe giving him a valid excuse would make him loosen his grip a little, but she wasn't hiding the fact that she was still pissed at him.

Knock Out almost forgot that humans needed nutritional substance like he needed energon to survive. She had been out for a while, and by now she was probably starving. After all, what good is recovery if you can't fuel yourself? Now he really did feel sorry for being such an aft, but he wasn't going to admit that to her.

"Well, I suppose we could bring you to your home, but you won't be going alone." He replied, finally giving her some kind of answer, even if it wasn't exactly what she wanted to hear.

She huffed at him, "Fine. I'll take what I can get."


End file.
